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Call for Promoting Cultural, Historical Heritages

Preservation and promotion of Iran’s cultural and historical heritages are of utmost importance, said First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri.
Speaking on Tuesday in the first session of the High Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Council under President Hassan Rouhani’s administration, Jahangiri called on Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization to ensure the country’s heritage sites are promoted worldwide, IRNA reported.
The session was attended by the ministers of culture and science, as well as the head of the Department of Environment, among others.
“The organization plays a key role in introducing Iran’s culture and civilization,” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of handicrafts, the official said they help generate jobs.
Jahangiri pointed to ICHHTO’s plans to attract tourists and develop halal tourism, and said the infrastructure must be overhauled to help Iran achieve its tourism goals.
He said the government supports investments in the key sector and encouraged the private sector to play a more active role in Iran’s push to achieve a thriving tourism industry.
DOE Ready to Help
Massoumeh Ebtekar, the head of DOE, pointed to tourism as an important sector in need of attention and said her department is ready to help develop it.
She said a prosperous tourism industry upholds environmental regulations and warned that environmental problems can adversely affect tourism.
In early July, ICHHTO updated its ecotourism regulations and obliged tour operators to comply.
Earlier in June, Mohammad Ali Fayyazi, director general of Iran’s National Ecotourism Committee, urged DOE to approve a proposal to facilitate ecotourism investment in protected areas.
The department divides protected areas into four categories: national parks, natural monuments, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation areas.
The DOE’s reluctance to approve ecotourism proposals stems from its concerns for the environment.